Tormentor (Slayer song)
With classic tunes of thrash metal and riffs derived from the punk trend, "Tormentor" is a 1983 single recognized as one of the most emblematic songs of the American band Slayer from their album Show No Mercy.
| "Tormentor" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by Slayer | |
| from Show No Mercy" | |
| Released | December, 1983 |
| Recorded | November, 1983 |
| Genre | Thrash metal |
| Length | 3:46 (Album version) |
| Songwriter(s) | Jeff Hanneman |
Several songs and bands have the name Tormentor in their names or titles. However, Slayer's "Tormentor"[1] is one of the best known in which the word is used. The band Kreator also has a song called "Tormentor", created two years after Slayer's song.[2]
As with other songs of the band, "Tormentor" has a dark and lugubrious tone reminiscent of the album Killers, by Iron Maiden, where a story is told, sometimes in the first person, with a supernatural theme, Noir story, or Satanism.[3]
Song
The narrative is from the point of view of a murderer in search of anyone walking in the solitude of the night in order to turn them into his next victim. The killer does not want to kill too soon as he starts playing with them. The murderer likes to see how fear upsets the victim who sees the potential murderer in every shadow. They realize that their mind is playing tricks on them. This is what the murderer wants, as it will torment them (hence the name of Tormentor, "he who torments") until, in the end, he strikes.
References
- ↑ freedb database.«Bands with a song called Tormentor». 2012.
- ↑ freedb database (1985). «Endless Pain: Tormentor».
- ↑ No author adjudicated (March 1985). «Slayer ¿en México?». Conecte magazine, México. 10 (52): 5-7.